At Domio, our brand story lives in the walls of each property—literally. Our custom wallpapers and art (available at Society6) kick off the Design Team’s creative process, beginning with a collaboration between our interiors and graphics teams. The launch of our Chicago properties provides another opportunity for travelers to experience the world of Domio. All of our usual perks and amenities are added with a layer of thoughtful design to make you feel right at home.

We chatted with some of our Domio designers on their interpretation of Chicago’s vast design history and how they brought it to life in each new space.

Allison Chen: How would you describe Chicago’s Architecture in a nutshell?

Olivia Hnatyshin: Chicago has something for everyone: thoughtful modernist lines by Mies Van Der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright; Art Deco statements by the Burnham Brothers. Neo-Classical architecture can be seen in monuments & museums and the city also invites new, more explorative installations to join in the mix. Deconstructivist landmarks by Frank Gehry live in Millennium Park, while Anish Kapoor’s world famous bean experiments with material and scale.

The overall collective merges stone, steel, glass, and iron to give life & unexpected cohesion to one of America’s greatest architecturally rich cities.

AC: Your wallpaper designs seem to highlight this eclectic mix of Chicago architecture and abstract shapes. What was your inspiration behind each of them?

Jacob Chan: I noticed that a common theme around the city’s architecture was the organic lines and fluid shapes. They are used in parks and pavilions all over Chicago’s Downtown.

BP Pedestrian Bridge, Burnham Pavilion, and even the Aqua Tower’s layered balconies create a very modern aesthetic in contrast to the rough, iron bridges built to support the city’s historic infrastructure.

To mimic these patterns while incorporating “The Bean,” I layered these shapes in a fluid, continuous layout that is both pleasing to the eye and is scaled & recolored for various interior design schemes.

AC: With the interiors, how did the city inform your decisions about the overall look and feel of the Domio brand in this new market?

OH: With the interiors, we wanted to continue the merge of simple lines, saturated jewel tones highlighted with Art Deco brass, and browns & blacks for a nod to the timeless materials of the modernist period. There is a lot of mid-century modern as well.

To break up the seriousness of this color palette, the more playful patterns (based on cultural phenomenons like the bears and the corn) balance it out and create some pop—something we always want to do when creating a fun backdrop to all of the Domio spaces.

JC: (laughs) Yeah, the corn is not only a midwest icon but is also known in Chicago as the “ corn towers”. We incorporated our signature purple, provided a tone on tone keyhole backdrop for some sophistication, and then treated the graphic elements heavily. We also intentionally collaged the corn to be straightforward and literal for some humor.

AC: Can you speak more about how you developed the color palette for Domio’s Chicago properties and the Chicago art collection?

OH: When we gain a new city, I always encourage the team to collect colors that come to mind with a meaning behind them. For Chicago, I think of the cityscape, the unbeatable Italian food, the pops of new architecture and design schools. So the color palette consists of burgundies, greys, dark jewel tones, and then millennial pink & gen-z yellow for something unexpected.

JC: The team also takes photos that inspire them from that particular city and actually uses the dropper tool in photoshop to dream up our palettes. Sometimes it is hit or miss but it helps in sorting out our ideas.

Our in-house Design Team’s collaboration with our Guest Experiences Team has created delightful stays in Chicago that say “Domio” in the way you’d think to yourself, “It’s so great to finally be home.”

Check out our Domio Chicago properties to see our beautiful homes IRL and explore everything that the Windy City has to offer!